Judge rules Patrick Pursley to get new trial in 1994 conviction in shooting death of Andy Ascher

Georgette Braun Staff writer @georgettebraun

Friday

Mar 3, 2017 at 2:58 PMMar 15, 2017 at 12:45 PM

ROCKFORD — Patrick Pursley, who is serving a life sentence for the 1993 shooting death of Andy Ascher, will get a new trial, Judge Joseph McGraw ruled today in a Winnebago County courtroom.

McGraw said that new ballistics evidence presented by his attorneys "would be likely to change the result on retrial."

"Thank you," Pursley told McGraw.

"I am happy," Pursley's fiance Michelle Carr said outside the courtroom after McGraw announced his decision. "This is what he deserves."

Prosecutors have 30 days to decide whether to appeal.

“We respect the decision of the court and are currently reviewing the ruling, the case and the evidence," Winnebago County State's Attorney Joe Bruscato said in an email. "We will consider all our options, including appeal, and will decide which will be the best course of action.”

Pursley, 51, is represented by lawyers from Jenner & Block of Chicago. The firm was asked to represent Pursley by the Center on Wrongful Convictions at Northwestern University.

In December, the firm presented new tests to McGraw that show bullets and shell casings did not match the Taurus gun to which Pursley was linked. The ballistics testing was the "centerpiece" of Pursley's conviction, the firm's lawyers said.

The attorneys say jurors at his trial were given misleading information about tests showing a gun tied to Pursley was the one used in the crime. Experts no longer say tests prove a specific weapon was definitely the one used in a shooting.

But Steve Biagi of the state's attorney's office, has said its experts confirm the shell casings link Pursely to the gun and that jurors considered more than ballistics in convicting him.

Ascher, 22, was sitting in his car with his girlfriend on Silent Wood Trail in southeast Rockford when a robber approached them and shot Ascher. The girlfriend didn't see the suspect, who was wearing a ski mask.

Pursley, who has maintained his innocence, was arrested several weeks later after police received a Crime Stoppers tip.

Ascher grew up on a farm in Winnebago and worked for the city of Rockford, repairing fire and garbage trucks.

His sister, Jill Ascher, told the Register Star in January that she has no doubt that Pursley "is the one" who shot her brother. "There were so many things pointing at him."

Pursley, who is incarcerated at Stateville Correctional Center in Joliet, will next appear in McGraw's court at 10 a.m. March 13.

Georgette Braun: 815-987-1331; gbraun@rrstar.com; @GeorgetteBraun

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